That's Right. I'm The Bastard

The headquarters of the Zhu clan was located along Changfeng Road in the Dongcheng District of Beijing. It was a huge, old mansion whose grounds covered four square kilometers. The Zhu clan had a long and rich history. Their ancestral mansion had been around since the time of the Qin dynasty. Although it was never publicized Zhu Yanzhang, the man who founded the Ming dynasty, had also claimed to be a distant member of the Zhu clan.

Although the mansion was old, its foundations were still quite strong. Successive generations of the Zhus would often renovate the mansion and strengthen its foundations whenever necessary. They would bring in new and contemporary elements to improve the mansion while preserving its ancient heritage. The mansion itself was built in the style of the ancient palaces. It was huge and had many courtyards, including residences for the servants and the guards in addition to the living quarters of the Main Family. There was a big hall where the family would entertain official guests and also some smaller halls for other purposes. In short, it was a huge mansion with many rooms that was flanked by the servant quarters and the guard quarters. There were two big, jade lion statues guarding its entrance and it was surrounded on all sides by high walls.

Xiwang was not in a hurry and had taken his time driving towards the mansion. He had even stopped at a restaurant to have his breakfast. Thus, it was almost noon by the time he reached his destination. He stopped the car near the main entrance of the mansion. Staring at the huge gate and the guards stationed near it, he had an indifferent expression on his face. He was neither impressed nor awed by the high walls and the majestic mansion. He had no fond memories of this place and had no desire to ever live in this mansion again. He did not really care about the people living in the mansion either. There were only two people in the mansion that he wanted to see. They were his grandmother and his aunt. In fact, he would not have come here today if it were not for those two people.

He got off the car and slowly made his way towards the gate. As he got closer the guards took notice of him. One of them stepped forward and stretched his hand out to stop him. He said in a polite tone, "Sir, this is the mansion of the Zhu clan. Visitors are not allowed in without an appointment. May I enquire what business you might have here?" Judging from his appearance, Xiwang appeared to be someone who was from a rich family. He looked quite refined and had a dominant air about him, such that the guards thought that his background must not be simple. Thus, they decided to be respectful when addressing him.

Although Xiwang was not wearing any of his more expensive suits, he was still dressed smartly and in formal attire. It was not that he wanted to dress up for his visit, but he was used to wearing formal attire and such clothes were usually what he would wear when he went out. He had on a violet shirt which he wore without a necktie and black cotton pants. Both were from Hermes. His belt and shoes were both black and made of genuine leather and were from Louis Vuitton. On his left wrist he was wearing a limited edition Timex Master-which was gold-plated and studded with real diamonds.

It was not that Xiwang enjoyed being garbed in branded materials. Actually, it was Dalia who usually bought his clothes for him. She would always buy the most expensive brands or have them custom-made just for Xiwang. At first, Xiwang had protested but he found that Dalia really seemed to enjoy doing things like that for him. Gradually he became used to it and even started to enjoy the feeling of being cared for and pampered by the beautiful Dalia.

Xiwang walked right up to the guard and said in a calm tone, "I used to live here." His answer caught the guard by surprise. He had been a guard for the Zhu clan for nearly ten years now. But, he had never seen the handsome young man before. Just when he was about to ask him for details, he suddenly remembered the rumors of the 'bastard' who had been exiled from the family many years ago. He said in a probing tone, "Could you be Zhu Xiwang?" Xiwang answered, "I am he. But, it's just Xiwang. No need for the Zhu part."

'What does he mean by no need for the Zhu part?' The guards were a little surprised when they heard his answer. But, they were all well disciplined and were used to ignoring the family affairs. They simply followed orders obediently. Thus, they did not probe Xiwang further and just opened the gates for him. They had been informed that the 'bastard' would be returning and to just let him in when he showed up. In truth, the guards were quite curious about Xiwang. There were rumors among the servants that in addition to his four children the current patriarch had another son who was exiled many years ago. He was referred to as 'the bastard' in the family. But, the family liked to pretend that Xiwang did not exist, so all the servants knew about the famous 'bastard' of the family were mere rumors.

The Zhu clan mansion had a very spacious front lawn where outdoor parties could be hosted. It contained a beautiful garden with all kinds of flowers and a small fish pond at the centre. Currently, four women were having a tea party in the garden and were chatting happily. The women were all top-grade beauties and looked to be in their early twenties. Their topic of conversation was none other than Zhu Xiwang. One of the beautiful women said in a haughty tone, "It's true. My father said that that bastard is really coming back. Coming back at this time. Snort! That bastard really has no shame. He probably wants to ask father for money or to be included in the family business. If he dares to do it, my brothers and I will make him suffer." This woman was Zhu Xiulan, Xiwang's younger sister.

There was an equally beautiful woman seated next to her right. This woman was called Feng Feng, the princess of the Feng clan which was a major clan in the capital. She was Zhu Xiulan's best friend. The two women were also rivals of sorts. They were both famous beauties in the capital and would often be compared with each other. Other than the fact that Zhu Xiulan was from a super clan, the two were quite equally matched. Feng Feng was slightly superior in terms of looks but Zhu Xiulan had the upper hand when it came to temperament. Feng Feng turned to her friend and said, "LanLan, tell us, what was your half-brother like?" The other two women also turned to Zhu Xiulan with curious expressions.

Zhu Xiulan thought about it for a second and answered in that same haughty tone, "That guy? He is nothing like my real brothers. He is far worse compared to them. He was a really scrawny fellow. Actually, he was a real eyesore so I would poke him with sharp sticks. I used to have a lot of fun bullying him." The three women giggled at her reply. "You've always been so good at bullying others." The three women shared another hearty laugh.

At that moment, Xiwang was walking on a paved pathway that led to the mansion. This pathway was lined with trees and ran adjacent to the garden. As he was passing the garden, one of the women saw him and was stunned by his handsome appearance. She did not recall having ever seen such an attractive young man in the capital before and was immediately interested in him. She turned to Zhu Xiulan and said, "Sister Lan, who is that handsome young man over there? He seems to be going to your house." The other women simultaneously turned towards Xiwang and were as stunned as their friend had been when they saw how good-looking he was.

Zhu Xiulan scrutinized Xiwang's appearance and silently gave a nod of approval in her head. He was wearing expensive, branded clothes and looked quite refined. Moreover, he had a dominant aura and a quiet way about him that really appealed to her. She immediately found him to be much more attractive than the other young masters in the capital. She secretly glanced at her 'rival' Feng Feng and saw that she also seemed to be mesmerized by the handsome young man. 'It seems like she is also interested in him.'

In truth, they were both somewhat vain at heart. They knew that they were beautiful and that many of the famous young masters in the capital were interested in them. Although, they never admitted it out loud, they secretly competed in terms of how many young masters they could attract and other things like that. It was kind of like a game to them and they enjoyed having those so-called playboys fawning over them. She thought that Feng Feng would be her biggest competitor if she wanted to get closer to the attractive young man before them.

She said, "I have never seen him before. I don't know who he is. If he is coming to our house, then maybe he is the son of one of my father's friends." Feng Feng suggested, "Then why don't you call him over and we can ask him who he is." Zhu Xiulan also wanted to call Xiwang over. But, despite what she might be thinking inside, she still had to maintain the appearance of a lady on the outside. So, she said, "Maybe it might not be very appropriate for a bunch of ladies to call a man over." But, Feng Feng was bolder compared to her friend and she had a straightforward personality. Before Zhu Xiulan could continue, she had already shouted, "Hey, handsome! Yes, you. The handsome guy over there. Could you please come over here for a minute? We would like to talk to you."

Xiwang turned his head and saw the four women. In truth, he had very sharp hearing so he had heard every word of the women's conversation even before he walked past them. Hearing them call him over, he had an amused expression on his face. He scrutinized the four women and commented to himself. 'Ai! Four spoiled princesses who have too much time on their hands. It seems they really have nothing better to do than to talk about other people behind their backs.' He had initially planned to ignore them but now that they had called out to him he could not just leave.

He turned and walked towards then slowly. When the four ladies saw his enchanting deep purple eyes, they were immediately mesmerized. Zhu Xiulan looked into his deep purple eyes and felt her heartbeat quicken. She had never been interested in any of the young masters in the capital, but right now, she felt that it would not be bad to be courted by the handsome young man with the deep purple eyes. But, somehow, she felt that the way he was looking at her was not quite right. She felt that he was looking at her as if she were some kind of joke. She felt a little uneasy but it did not lessen her attraction towards him.

As he reached them, Feng Feng immediately said, "Hi, handsome! Sorry to call you over but we were really curious about you. Why is it that we have never seen you in the capital before? Are you new here?" Xiwang smiled lightly and answered in a calm voice, "Yes. I just recently returned from abroad." The ladies were drawn in by his magnetic voice. The calm way he spoke was really different from the haughty playboys that they were used to seeing. After learning that he had returned from abroad, they were even more interested in him. They all had the same thought. 'Returned from abroad? Does that mean he really is a rich second-generation that was studying abroad?'

Zhu Xiulan smiled and opened her mouth to speak. She tried to sound as sweet as possible, "Hello, I'm Zhu Xiulan and this is my home. Did you come here to meet my father or my brothers? Could you please tell us who you are?" Xiwang looked at the girl with an amused expression on his face. 'Wow! What's with that excessively sweet tone and those dreamy eyes? Did this arrogant little girl actually develop a crush on me? Hahaha! How ironic!' He looked straight at her and said slowly, "I'm the guy you used to poke with sharp sticks."

Zhu Xiulan was shocked by his answer. "You're Xiwang?!!!" She could never have imagined that the handsome young man before her was actually the 'bastard' that she had been ridiculing. And what's more, she was actually attracted to him. Her emotions became complex as she tried to process the information. Even her three friends were stunned into silence by his answer, 'This handsome young man is her half-brother?! Why is he nothing like she had described him?'

Seeing their shocked expressions, Xiwang felt very amused. He smiled lightly and said, "I'm just here to visit grandma and pay respects to the old man. I won't stay long." Turning to the other ladies he winked and said, "Goodbye, ladies. It was nice meeting you." Then, he walked off towards the mansion with light, confident strides. The three ladies stared at his back and sighed. Despite knowing that he was the famous 'bastard' of the Zhu family, they had been thoroughly charmed by him.

Zhu Xiulan felt complex emotions as she watched him leave. She was still immensely attracted to him. But, that made her hate him even more now because she knew that he was the 'bastard'. Other than hating him she did not really know any other way to interact with him because that was what she had always done. 'How could he be that scrawny bastard? Why is he so good-looking now? How did he change so much? And why did the color of his eyes change? They should be black, not that attractive deep purple. Did he get some kind of plastic surgery?' All kinds of questions popped up in her head. She was even more confused because she knew that her heartbeat was still racing every time she thought about his handsome appearance.

After his form had disappeared, the three ladies turned to Zhu Xiulan and bombarded her with questions and comments.

"Sister Lan, was that really your half-brother? He's so handsome!"

"Sister Lan, he is not scrawny at all. He looks so refined."

"LanLan, you're half-brother is so cool. Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

Zhu Xiulan gnashed her teeth and said through gritted teeth, "He might be more attractive now but that does not change the fact that he is just a bastard." But, inside she secretly lamented and added to herself, 'Why did you have to be my half-brother Xiwang? Why couldn't you be someone else coming for a visit? It's so unfair.'

Xiwang continued on the path towards the mansion. Thinking back on the recent encounter he chuckled lightly and thought to himself, 'Little girls!' As he reached the front door of the mansion, he saw a group of men walking out. There were four of them in total and one of them was his father. The four men also saw him at that moment. Zhu Guanyu was momentarily stunned when he saw Xiwang. His appearance had changed greatly but he could still tell that the handsome young man before him was his eldest son. But, seeing his eldest son's current appearance took him by surprise and he just stood there rooted to the spot. He was surprised not merely because of the change in his physical appearance but more so because he could feel an oppressive feeling coming from him.

As an accomplished assassin, Xiwang was always able to perfectly mask his aura and his bloodlust. But, when he saw his estranged father he felt a little emotional and thus, a small part of his aura that he had always hidden had seeped out. It was a distant and dominant aura. Being hit by the aura, Zhu Guanyu felt that his eldest son had suddenly become an aloof god, staring down at the world from the Heavens. He also felt a chill creeping down his spine as he got a little taste of the aura of a supreme assassin that was leaking from Xiwang's body.

These three men had also come to pay their respects to the old patriarch. Although it had almost been a month since the old man's passing, some people would still occasionally come to the Zhu mansion to pay their respects; some had been too busy to come before while others had come from very far-away places. Two of the men were from the Government who had been too busy with work to come previously. The last man was from the Long clan. He was a healthy-looking man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. His name was Long Min and he was one of the Long clan's top executives. He had been abroad working for their clan and had only recently returned.

Seeing Zhu Guanyu's transfixed state, Long Min called out to him, "Brother Zhu, do you know that young man? Who is he?" Zhu Guanyu was woken up by the sudden question. He contemplated for a moment on how to answer the question. After deliberating for a while he decided to answer truthfully and said, "He is my eldest son, Zhu Xiwang."

The men were stunned when they heard his reply. These men had always known that Zhu Guanyu had another son apart from his three sons. They also knew that he was not very popular in the family. The Zhu family actually liked to pretend that he did not exist. That was why they never expected to see him there.

Long Min suddenly said in an exaggerated tone, "You mean to say he's the bastard that you sent away?" It was unknown whether he was being deliberately crude or he had just blurted that inappropriate comment in a moment of shock. The fact was that the power of the Long clan had grown even more in recent years and they did not need to fear the Zhu clan at all. In fact, the two super clans had been secretly competing against each other over the years. Although their conflicts had not escalated to the point of openly going to war with each other, they had clashed in the shadows many times. While they were still maintaining a friendly front with each other in the open, both the clans were secretly planning against each other in the background.

Xiwang did not really care about any of that. He turned to the man and said lightly, "That's right. I'm the bastard."

The four men were a little surprised by how lightly Xiwang was able to say that. Being called a bastard was a source of great shame or embarrassment for most people and would either make them submissive or very angry. But, there was no bitterness at all in Xiwang's tone nor was there anger, only indifference.

It was not that Xiwang had come to accept his place as the bastard of the family and therefore accepted that he was of lower standing than everyone else. It was that he never cared about such things in the first place. He had never considered himself to be part of the Zhu family. That was why he had adopted his mother's maiden name when he changed his name. In fact, he wanted to abandon his Chinese name altogether. But, in the end, he could not abandon the name 'Xiwang' because that was the name that his loving mother had chosen for him. He compromised and decided that at least when he was in China he would use the name 'Xiwang'.

Xiwang then looked at his father and said, "Old man Zhu, I'll be going to the Ancestral Hall. After that, I'm going to see grandma." With that, he left before even waiting for a reply from his father. His attitude made it clear that he was declaring what he was going to do rather than asking for permission.